Chapter 208: Chapter 207: Blue Flame Wants Money, Jing Zhengwei Wants Lives
"No way!"
The voice in the council hall was almost louder than the sound of Linhai Army’s cannon fire just a moment ago.
No wonder the Silver Blood merchants reacted so fiercely.
What is the concept of eighty percent of liquid assets?
Those small merchant associations that have just joined the Silver Blood Association are one thing, but those ranked above 60 have been operating in Xuanzhu County for at least thirty years.
Due to an imperfect banking system and inconvenient transportation, these merchant associations truly don’t have many places to spend money. Buying land and factories was an early strategy; later on, there’s nowhere left to buy, and they are reluctant to buy land in the Outer District—though some, like the Shi Family, have invested in Skyrim, and ended up selling off family assets due to losses.
In peacetime, buying land and building factories in the Outer District is too risky. Local clan forces, officials, rogue Martial Artists, anyone can make Silver Blood merchants suffer, and in many places, merchants hold very low status.
The Silver Blood Association was initially just a friendly organization for merchants to cooperate together.
Ironically, in chaotic times, with military forces dominant and local tycoons cautious about stirring trouble, Silver Blood merchants can peacefully invest as long as they bribe the military, akin to buying the dip when the market is in a slump and waiting for the stock market to rise.
As long as they can protect their assets and survive the chaos, they will have ’successfully broken out,’ unlocking a new map.
Many large merchant associations within the Silver Blood Association gained their fortunes in the ’little turbulent times’ two hundred years ago.
Returning to the main topic.
Currently, the liquid assets of Silver Blood merchants account for at least half of their total assets.
Liquid assets do not only refer to cash on hand but also include jewelry, accessories, gold, silver, antiquities, and even food that can be mortgaged.
Moreover, in the past two years, Silver Blood merchants have felt that currency depreciation is imminent, taking the opportunity to liquidate properties and purchase gold and silver, preparing to buy them back with a little money when chaos strikes and trade routes are cut off, or to simply flee with cash.
Besides, current commerce transactions are settled in cash, no one dares to offer credit—who knows if you’ll be killed by the Backlight Organization tomorrow, it’s all cash on delivery.
Therefore, if the Silver Blood Association’s eighty-eight merchant associations were to hand over eighty percent of their liquid assets, the ensuing ripple effect could regress Xuanzhu County’s economy by thirty years.
If future historians document this, they could even describe it as ’stifling the sprout of capitalism.’
Even though Silver Blood merchants had already prepared to be passive, they still couldn’t accept it.
"Unacceptable!"
"We won’t be sacrificial lambs!"
"Blue Flame is too much. We’ll fight him to the death!"
The fact that a group of profit-driven merchants could face a common enemy indicates how excessive this demand really is.
The selfishness of eighty-seven merchants is enough to topple the altruism of the Sea of Consciousness!
Such organizations that want to seize our assets should be eliminated!
If an organization requires me to sacrifice for it, then it has no reason to exist!
But Le Yu didn’t give them any face: "Really? Then I’ll just notify the Linhai Army outside to leave so we can save a sum on military supply..."
Everyone immediately went silent.
"President, don’t rush," said Qin Le Yin with a smile. "This matter may not be without room for negotiation, and even if we arrive at a result, we need to stabilize the Linhai Army outside, delaying a bit longer..."
"Patriarch Hongle speaks with reason."
"President, careful, careful!"
"Perhaps we can find a better solution."
Le Yu took the opportunity to say: "Then please speak freely about how we can raise this massive military fund?"
The cunning merchants of the Silver Blood Association offered their suggestions:
Some said, how about issuing IOUs.
Some suggested installment payments.
Some said, perhaps the President could persuade Blue Flame; Blue Flame values the President greatly and may give him face. However, the President must be proactive, enduring humiliation and burden, letting Blue Flame understand the enthusiasm of Dongyang boys... Le Yu wanted to overturn the table and kill the proposer at that moment, but fortunately, someone next to him held him back, and the proposer compensated him with a red-gold bracelet for mental damages, so Le Yu let it go with grumbling.
Listening to all these suggestions, Le Yu realized they all had three characteristics:
① They don’t want to pay.
② They don’t want to pay that much.
③ They don’t want to pay that much right now.
Le Yu raised his hand slightly, pressed down, and the Sea of Consciousness seemed to crack like an ice surface, coldness flooding out, and all the members suddenly quieted down.
"You’ve misunderstood something," he said. "Blue Flame isn’t negotiating with us; he’s ordering us."
"Does he not know this demand is excessive? He knows."
"But he also knows that we, the Silver Blood Association, can certainly afford it."
After all, this was calculated by Jing Shou, whom I dispatched, to find the limit of liquid assets among all members of the Silver Blood Association, Le Yu thought.
Indeed.
Blue Flame never demanded a specific amount.
He’s a Director of the Statistical Department, a leading officer of the Linhai Army, what does he understand about cunning merchants.
This enormous sum was precisely calculated by Le Yu, a figure neither too large for the Silver Blood Association to sustain but pressing precisely at the edge of every member’s bankruptcy.
"If you believe offering any less than this amount can satisfy Blue Flame, then you might as well not bother."
"Being satisfied without absolute implies absolute dissatisfaction."
Le Yu smiled: "You must remember, our money isn’t just buying the present, we’re buying the future. Yes, we, the Silver Blood Association, are the military’s purse, but they cannot drain us without us having money."
"Once we pay this ’protection fee,’ Blue Flame will savor the benefit, meaning the gates to Chenfeng District open to us."
"Gentlemen, remember, Blue Flame and Linhai Army have an excellent reputation in Chenfeng District, what does this signify? It means the military cannot directly extract military fees, they need to maintain face."
"Thus, they need a purse that can secure military funds for them, and who in all the world is more suitable than our Silver Blood Association?"
"Gentlemen, do you know what the investment with the best cost-effectiveness in the world is?"
"Is it slaves?"
"Is it factories?"
"Is it places of entertainment?"
Le Yu glanced at Qin Le Yin: "It’s the future emperor, it’s the future Imperial Court."
Everyone became serious.
Someone asked, "Chairman, do you think Blue Flame..."
"I certainly don’t have the ability to see who will be the future ruler of the shining earth." Le Yu shook his head, "But with Blue Flame’s skills, he can at least ensure peace in Chenfeng and Dongyang for ten years."
Everyone was moved.
Ten years may not seem like much, but the future is not a time of peace; it’s a dark era of Holy Sword suspended and mutual slaughter on the shining earth.
Ten years is enough for the Silver Blood Association to completely swallow Chenfeng District, becoming the indispensable financial strength in local military and government.
As for after the ten years, even if Blue Flame is defeated, they can always turn to a new master.
The era of merchants will never end.
Of course, the Silver Blood merchants didn’t fully trust the chairman’s judgment.
But what they wanted wasn’t certainty, but a reason.
A reason that makes it less painful to spend money.
Investing in the future is enough of a reason.
Just like getting a gym membership; it’s actually a place for running and weightlifting, which doesn’t sound very appealing, but framed as investing in health and increasing the chances of meeting the opposite sex, it might not be so resistant.
"But we still can’t accept it." Quan Xin and others shook their heads, thoughts of rejection flooding the Sea of Consciousness.
The Silver Blood merchants also wanted to agree.
But what Blue Flame wants is really too much money.
It’s not just taking a cut, it’s squeezing them dry.
Life is important, but with so much money, they felt it wasn’t worth it.
Le Yu couldn’t help but look at them with admiration.
The spiritual realm of this group of capitalists is quite high.
Capital has thoroughly alienated them into the supreme realm of ’greed makes fools die for wealth, martyrs die for fame, each sees the other as greedy fools, while seeing themselves as martyrs.’
Le Yu suddenly said, "I have an immature plan that might allow us to give less money."
The stirring atmosphere in the council chamber suddenly cleared.
"Chairman, please speak!" everyone urged.
"Ultimately, Blue Flame is looking for military funds, but they can’t stay long in Dongyang District, so they’re thinking of draining us all at once because he may not come back for a second time."
Le Yu spoke eloquently, "How could he not know the principle of exhausting resources for a quick gain? But in these times, he doesn’t trust us, and we don’t trust him."
"Why don’t we both take a step back and give each other a chance?"
Everyone was a bit perplexed, "Chairman, what do you mean...?"
"For example," Le Yu guided them patiently, "we could give Blue Flame immovable assets."
"Factories."
"Stores."
"Restaurants."
"Things the Linhai Army can’t take away; we can give them to him."
"If Blue Flame wants to exhaust the resources, let’s give him a chance to fish together."
"Let him experience the wonderful feeling of money flowing in without doing anything."
"Why should we oppose Blue Flame? Isn’t drawing Blue Flame into the Silver Blood Association an option too?"
"However, however," Le Yu clasped his hands, his voice as captivating as a soul-stealing charm, "Blue Flame certainly doesn’t trust us; after all, as a general, how could he compete with us in business."
"He is very self-aware, so the war reparations only require liquid assets, not interested in making money with us."
"Coincidentally, there are five hundred Linhai Army outside the city. They can be both the dagger to monitor us and the bridge of friendship between us and Blue Flame."
"To demonstrate our sincerity, I can order these five hundred Linhai Army to enter the city, letting them take over the immovable assets under your names, and you must withdraw your family members so that these soldiers don’t feel deceived by ’shady merchants.’
"Don’t hurry, don’t hurry, just listen to me finish. Although you have to withdraw your family members, as the chairman designated by Blue Flame and commander of these five hundred Linhai Army, naturally, I can send my people to follow them to guarantee that during their takeover, no losses will occur to the families’ properties."
"The key to my plan is mutual trust and sincerity."
"We must let Blue Flame understand that even if he is far away in Chenfeng, he can enjoy the continuous benefits from the Silver Blood Association. This can not only resolve the current crisis but also have the Linhai Army protect us—do you still want to rely on the useless iron of the Heyang Army?"
"Thus, you must temporarily let go of your properties, letting soldiers see for themselves how vast our ’pool’ is and how plentiful the ’fish’ are, using this to let Blue Flame feel the sincere intentions of the Silver Blood Association!"
"You need not worry; this is only a matter for a month or two. Once Blue Flame trusts us, the properties will naturally return to your families. Then we can cook the books; Blue Flame, recognizing the iron bar, will be drinking foot-washing water from us, won’t he?"
"But if Blue Flame accepts our proposal, I have confidence in reducing the amount for war reparations by half, or even by two-fifths!"
"For those who have doubts, think about it, my Jing Family also has numerous properties in Xuanzhu County."
Le Yu patted his chest, "Even if I were to cheat you, would I cheat the Jing Family?"
"Tell me, isn’t this plan ingenious?"
Beside him, Qin Le Yin watched Le Yu’s passionate performance.
He suddenly remembered a little story he’d read in the Youth Daily.
It was written by an author named Brother Xun.
In the story, someone wanted to let some windows open in a room but feared that people wouldn’t agree, so he proposed opening a skylight, leading to fierce opposition.
This time, he said, ’Why not open a window instead,’ everyone thought, compared to opening a skylight, this proposal was much better, so they agreed.
From the start, Jing Zhengwei proposed snipping eight-tenths of the Silver Blood Association’s assets.
That naturally made everyone prefer to become martyrs rather than give money.
This time, he said, why don’t everyone hand over the assets to the Linhai Army, to the Jing Family for temporary management, thus reducing the reparations by half, and even bringing in strong support.
The Silver Blood merchants couldn’t help but be tempted.
But they wouldn’t know.
Blue Flame just wants their money.
But Jing Zhengwei wants their lives.